


cardinal sins

by demi_god



Series: steo + [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Seven Deadly Sins, murder boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:01:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27173506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demi_god/pseuds/demi_god
Summary: Stiles, Theo, and the vices to end all vices.
Relationships: Theo Raeken/Stiles Stilinski
Series: steo + [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2010148
Kudos: 36





	1. avaritia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> greed - n. a selfish and excessive desire for more of something than is needed

"Theo, everyone's getting impatient," Donovan says from his position on the couch. He's wringing his hands, looking at him with disdain. He's still bitter that Theo's appointed the leader. "The convention ends in a couple of days, and McCall is still breathing."

"I told you," Theo replies with indifference. "I have a plan."

"A plan you're not telling us," Tracy crosses her arms on her chest. "If you take your eyes off of the human for _one second_ , I might believe you."

"I hate to say this," Josh interjects, wincing as he speaks. He doesn't usually question Theo but feels compelled to share his mind on the matter. "But they have a point, Theo. The bosses have called twice, and none of us know how to explain why we haven't carried on with the mission yet when you have McCall's trust since day one."

"It's cause he's not only after McCall," Tracy sneers, standing up and walking up to Theo. "Tell me, Theo, why are you so adamant about chasing after Stilinski? We're not getting any money from him."

"And if McCall walks out of this convention alive, we're not getting paid _at all_." Donovan points out angrily. 

Theo only rolls his eyes, unmoved by the passionate hate Donovan and Tracy emanates for him. "I gave you specific people to watch, focus on them. Leave McCall and Stilinski to me,"

"You're the one not doing your job!" Donovan's face resembles a tomato, a very livid one, and his eyes are almost popping from their sockets. Honestly, this behavior is what loses him to Theo. He's too impatient and one-track-minded. "We can easily hold back the rest of his pack while you go for the Alpha's head. Instead, you're fixating on the human, and it's compromising us all. He's not even _part_ of the mission!"

Theo swings his feet off the chair and stands. He has enough with their whining. "You know why none of McCall's enemies succeeded in putting his pack down?"

"Because they're not focused enough on Scott McCall!"

Theo smiles. "Because they're _too_ focused on Scott McCall."

Tracy fists her hands, "That doesn't make any sense,"

Theo shrugs and moves to the door. His hand is on the knob when he says without turning to the three in the room. "If you've been doing your jobs, you would've noticed how every one of them - including Scott - regards him with fear. He's not as human as we're all led to believe."

Theo opens the door and gives them a final glance. "There's one thing I want and more valuable than the price of Scott McCall's head," he pauses.

Tracy and Donovan seethe; Josh studies him with a curious frown.

"I want Stiles, and I'm getting him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [tumblr](https://voidstilesplease.tumblr.com/post/632290581188591616/avaritia)


	2. invidia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> envy - n. a painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage

_"If you don't believe me, Donovan, then go after him. Go after Stiles. Kill him and prove me wrong."_

In his haste to finish the mission and to spite Theo, Donovan bites the bullet and does as he's taunted. It's the dumbest decision he's made - and he has a lot. It also happens to be the last he'll ever make.

Theo watches Stiles. He's in the driver's seat, knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel so hard. His hands are bloody, so is the front of his plaid, his pants, and there are smears on his face. He's looking far ahead, unseeing, breathing uneven. His eyes are wet with tears that don't fall. His heart is thundering in Theo's ears.

They're in the middle of strange woods - miles away from the supernatural convention. They just buried a body together. It isn't exactly the ideal first date that Theo has in mind, but it's a start.

"I killed him," are the first words he says to Theo after the incident - like it only registers to him. His voice is hoarse and distant.

"It's you or him," Theo says reasonably.

Stiles breathes heavily through his nose; his heart is drumming fast for a different reason. He doesn't smell nervous but angry.

"I'm not a _true alpha_ like Scott," he spats disdainfully. "I don't have his unwavering _morality_."

Theo studies him quietly for a moment. Then he replies, "You don't have to be jealous of his principles."

"But I _am_ ," Stiles admits to his reflection in the windshield. "I wish I had the same ones, so I'll be regretful. So, when Scott finds out, he'll see the remorse in my eyes. He'll hear it in my heartbeat and catch it in my scent."

Theo remains silent and allows Stiles to leak out his emotions inside the confined space of his Jeep until the air is heavily concentrated on his smell and Theo's. There's a little of Donovan from the blood, but Theo can forgive his meddling, provided the circumstances.

"But he won't," Stiles finishes above a whisper.

Theo puts a hand on his thigh. Stiles jerks at the unexpected touch. He looks down and then up - surprised but not offended.

"Surviving is not wrong,"

Stiles stares at him, long, hard, and calculating. "You know I don't trust you, right?"

"That's why I know you're the smartest,"

"You just helped me hide the evidence of your friend's murder," Stiles points out. "Yet, all you are is nonchalant."

Theo shrugs and moves his thumb in a soft, rubbing motion feeling Stiles's tenseness under his palm. He watches his movements - fascinated by the closeness that Stiles is permitting. "To be honest, Donovan had it coming. He dislikes your pack and knows I have my eyes on you. I warned him, but he still went after you."

"Warned him about what?" Stiles's voice is rough. Theo lifts his eyes to him and finds the boy gazing down at his thigh, also observing the ministrations.

Theo smirks in satisfaction; Stiles's reaction spurs him on. He squeezes experimentally. Stiles's breath audibly hitches, eyelids drooping to a close.

"I told him you're not human,"

Stiles's eyes snap wide open. Theo can smell his panic rising. He swallows, "What do you mean I'm not human?"

Theo removes his hand and leans back. "You tell me,"

Stiles visibly struggles, peering up at Theo first and then turning his head away. It takes a while, but when it happens, it's all at once. Finally, he evens his breathing, Theo silently observing from the passenger's side. His heartbeat calms, and his entire body loosens. It's like a switch has turned on.

Theo wants to roll in the change of scent. It was addictive.

Stiles looks at him again, face impassive. "You're right," he confesses. "This is not even my body. I'm sharing it with something ancient and malicious."

Theo's lips stretch to a small smile.

"Aren't _you_ afraid?" Stiles whispers - challenges.

He leans close again, reaching a hand to one cheek. Theo looks at him straight in the eyes. 

"Not at all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [tumblr](https://voidstilesplease.tumblr.com/post/632391815085047808/invidia)


	3. ira

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wrath - n. strong vengeful anger or indignation

They're in Theo's truck, running to god knows where - away, drive _far away_ , Stiles pleaded earlier in panic.

He's calm now - as serene as a sea before a storm.

His phone rings for the umpteenth time. He can continue ignoring it, but he takes pity on Josh. He looked more frightened than Stiles was when Theo hopped into his car and declared he was leaving with Stiles.

He swipes, and the call connects. Josh breathes in a loud relief and immediately barrages on. "Theo, _finally_! What the hell, man? What the _fuck's_ going - "

He's cut off, and a second later, another voice blares through the speaker: female and outraged. "We better not be forfeiting our mission just to help your human _bitch_ , Theo Raeken, because I _swear_ to - "

Theo rolls his eyes; he's already bored with them. "Just trust me," he says placidly.

Tracy scoffs in high pitch on the other end, "Trust you? _Trust_ you! You _son of_ \- "

He ends the call and turns his phone off. He glances at his rearview and finds Josh's silver Highlander still tailing them. He smirks in sick satisfaction. No matter what they say, they'll follow Theo anyway. They're a pair of headless chickens without him.

He tilts his head to the passenger's side where Stiles sits, clenching and unclenching his hands and jaw. They've been quiet apart from the sound of their breathing. "Do you have a destination in mind now?"

"Just drop me off in another ten miles, then you can leave," Stiles replies in monotone.

Theo lifts a brow, "Where would I go?"

"Back to your life," Stiles replies, not looking at Theo once. His voice is gruff - bitter, indignant. "And the pack you still have."

Theo allows a moment before he offers. "You can come with us,"

That gives Stiles a pause. Theo glances at him briefly and catches the scowl on his face. "You don't have to help me anymore. I won't tell your pack about Donovan,"

A smirk slides into place, and then a dark chuckle, "Bold of you to assume they don't already know. And frankly, they don't care,"

They enter a dark, deserted road; Josh and Tracy following close. Theo turns to Stiles when his heartbeat begins picking up again - his emotions surging once more. The boy's face pinches, "Why are you helping _me_?"

"Why did you need _my_ help?" Theo returns equally.

Stiles's nose flares up, and his eyes flash. His previous calm suddenly gives way to a violent rage taking over his body - it's exquisite to behold. All the potential of this ferocity is making Theo breathless with desire.

"They've been waiting for me to make a mistake so it would seem _justifiable_ ," he snarls, eyes wet and shaking. He's so perfect. "Scott wants to lock me in Eichen House - _they all do_ \- because I outlived an attempted murder. He doesn't believe it's self-defense because of what I am, the pompous, _righteous_ \- "

Stiles cuts himself off sharply as Theo veers to the side of the road. He faces Theo, angry tears running down from his eyes - desolation and fury blurring together. "He's my _best friend_!"

Theo notices the car stopping behind them, but his attention is rapt on Stiles. He's beautiful as a whirlpool is in its way - an impelling force drawing Theo in. The chimera reaches a hand to his neck, rubbing at the soft skin under his touch. "Not anymore," he tells Stiles matter-of-factly, unsympathetic.

"They _fear_ me," Stiles sneers, one hand coming up to grasp at the fabric of Theo's jacket. "And think I'm dangerous."

"They should because you are,"

His face contorts, "I'm not going back to that _wretched_ place,"

Whether he means Beacon Hills, Eichen House, the convention center, or his pack, Theo doesn't bother finding out. Maybe it's all of those.

"You don't have to," Theo says in earnest. He inhales the murky air surrounding the car and feels himself shudder. He holds the boy tighter. "Come with us. Stay with _me_."

Stiles doesn't speak for the duration of when he runs his eyes all over Theo's face. There's a new scent - exclusively for Theo - permeating the atmosphere. Theo leans closer, wetting his lips in anticipation. Stiles's eyes stray to his mouth and linger. He stares as he nods and whispers, "Where?"

Theo smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [tumblr](https://voidstilesplease.tumblr.com/post/632476390712819712/ira)


	4. acedia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sloth - n. (a) disinclination to action or labor; (b) spiritual apathy and inactivity, indifference

Theo enters the building - it's a dismal, little abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere. It's perfect for covert transactions. But he'd rather be elsewhere today, so he has to make this quick.

He steps inside and immediately finds the girl in a hunched position, claws out, fangs bared, icy-blue eyes flashing at him. She snarls when he struts closer, intending to look menacing but coming out grumpy. 

"Malia," Theo drawls, unruffled by the threatening display. He sees it so often with Tracy and Donovan - the impulsive, slighted, vengeful routine - that he's grown tired of it. They're so driven with anger, becoming rash and irrational, and it gets them killed in the end. Take Donovan as an example. He stops a few feet away from the feral girl and dons his most charming smile. "What a pleasant surprise,"

"Cut the bullshit, Theo," she growls through her elongated canines. "Where's Stiles?"

Theo makes a show of sweeping his eyes around. He hums - ridiculing. "Where's your _pack_?"

She growls low again, "I want Stiles," she punctuates each word with rumbling noise.

"You mistake the situation, Malia," Theo traces a slow, circular path around the girl, clasping his hands together behind him. She rotates with him, ready to pounce at the slightest provocation. "I didn't kidnap your ex. _He_ came to me."

"And now I'm taking him back," 

Theo chuckles. The girl is funny - a little dull on the uptake, but it makes for dry entertainment, "That's not your decision to make, is it?"

"Take me to him!" Malia screams, eyes glowing with anger. "Or I'll _kill_ you."

Theo tuts, shaking his head in reprimand. He ceases in his tracks, "What would Scott say about that behavior, Malia?"

Her nostril flares, rage doubling every second, "You have no idea what you're doing. Something _evil_ is inside Stiles, and you can't tame it."

He laughs indulgently, "I'm not looking for a _pet_ ,"

"He needs _containment_ ," she insists through gritted teeth. "He's dangerous,"

Theo rolls his eyes skyward. He has enough of that same excuse as Stiles is. "You're just a bunch of _cowards_ ,"

Her teeth gnash at the insult. She's ready for an assault when they're interrupted by the sound of a car parking outside. Malia swiftly snaps her head to the entryway, still crouching in defense. Theo lifts his eyes as well, acknowledging the new-comer. 

" _Desert Wolf,_ "

"Hello, daughter." Corinne poises, flaunting the shotgun she holds. She grins maliciously. "I came to hunt a rabid coyote."

"Four million dollars for your head, Malia," Theo jeers. "It's a mistake to come alone."

Malia growls loudly, but Theo notices the difference in her heartbeat. She's afraid now.

The Desert Wolf raises her gun, smirking. "I'll wire you the percentage we agreed on," she tells Theo without looking away from her daughter. Her eyes are blazing with excitement.

"You better," Theo starts moving to the exit. "You're lucky I'm on a downtime. I have a _trainee_ , you see." he glances behind his shoulder for a reaction. Malia doesn't disappoint; she understands the implication.

"He's gonna trick you!"

Theo pauses by the sectional door, "He doesn't have to," he responds assuredly. "I'm going to feed him - _chaos, strife, and pain_. Whatever he needs, whenever he needs."

Malia opens her mouth for another useless retort. A ringing shot to her leg has her moaning in pain and falling to her knees instead. Corinne prepares to fire again.

"Good," Theo says flatly, unconcerned by the smell of agony coming from the girl. He watches Malia writhe on the floor. "It was getting tedious."

Corinne discharges anew, burrowing a wolfsbane-laced bullet into a shoulder. Another cry of excruciating pain echoes in the room.

Theo turns his back from the scene. He has more pressing matters to attend to than crossing one more insignificant name from the dead pool.

"You're _crazy_!" Malia manages to shout before another sob falls out of her lips. Corinne laughs in delight.

Theo doesn't turn back or pause, but he smiles to himself.

"All the best ones are."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [tumblr](https://voidstilesplease.tumblr.com/post/632568130211856384/acedia)


	5. gula

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gluttony - n. greedy or excessive indulgence

Stiles lowers himself in front of the alpha. She's clutching her side where the bullet penetrated her. Her lips and clothes are black from the poison that's denying any healing. She crawls away, backing against a wall when he approaches. Her betas are moaning and coughing in wet gurgles, scattered all over.

Theo is watching from the side along with a pissed-off Tracy and a fidgety Josh - their default reactions around Stiles. It doesn't mask the underlying scent of terror they feel, unfortunately.

"Why don't you just get it over with?" The alpha spats weakly in Stiles's face. "You're not gonna get paid without visual confirmation, and none of us are _dead_ ,"

Stiles regards her with trembling eyes and quivering lips. A tear shoots down from his eyes.

The alpha laughs scornfully through bloody teeth. "What, this is your first time? Pathetic little _human_!"

"I'm sorry," Stiles whispers.

Something in Stiles's eyes must have given because the alpha also releases the fight still left in her body. She examines the expression on his face intently - gauging. She only screws her eyes shut when the pitiful sobbing and begging from her dying betas are too much. "Why are you doing this?"

"I don't know," Stiles replies sincerely. "The money, I guess."

"Please," one of the betas implores.

"I can't offer you all mercy," Stiles says regrettably. His eyes lock with the alpha. "But I can offer _you_ a chance to make it better for them."

The alpha takes a while, gazing up at the sad, brown eyes. Stiles doesn't break contact, as well. Theo ignores the impatient noises from the girl beside him and non-committal grunting from Josh. They've done their part; they only have to watch how it ends. It is how this works from now.

Stiles helps the alpha get to her dying betas. One-by-one, she holds their hand and eases their suffering until they can only quietly lie on the floor - the whimpering reduced to an almost peaceful resignation to fate. The alpha stands, shedding tears for her fallen pack.

Stiles observes the proceedings sadly - until he's not. Theo recognizes the switch, and he closes his eyes to inhale the familiar smell of power. It never fails to arouse him. 

Stiles sidles behind the young alpha werewolf, too close and very intimate - imposing. She flinches, but the alpha doesn't pull away when Stiles presses his lips in the shell of her ear and whispers under his breath. The alpha's eyes bleed red again when Stiles lays a hand over her wounded side. She nods once - leaning closer, gasping. Conspicuously, Stiles inserts the gun into her obedient hand.

Her betas' eyes widen in fear and betrayal when their alpha grips the gun and strides forward. She points it to one of them and squeezes the trigger without hesitation.

_If you kill them for me, I can reward you._

The alpha does as she's requested. She looms on her betas and expels bullets between their eyes. It seems an antithesis to her previous display of compassion by absorbing their pain - but also not. She's allowed to gamble, and she wants to _survive_ \- Stiles understands that. Her pack is practically gone, anyway.

When the last beta drops with a soft thud, she turns to Stiles, eyes expectant.

He touches one side of her neck and smiles - the grief he exhibited earlier, long gone. "Thank you," he says. "Now, I'll relieve you of the pain. _Give it to me._ "

She screams until she can't.

After, Tracy and Josh work on confirming the kills to complete the money transfer. Theo walks to Stiles - he's quiet in a corner, void of emotions. His lips tug in the corners, however, when Theo draws near. His eyes are alight but not quite as brown anymore.

"Are you satisfied?" Theo asks.

He smiles wider.

"Oh, I'm _insatiable_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [tumblr](https://voidstilesplease.tumblr.com/post/632655717002772480/gula)


	6. luxuria

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lust - n. intense desire for an object, or circumstance fulfilling the emotion; usually associated with unbridled sexual desire

"Resistance," Theo doesn't jump from the sound; he knows he's there, has heard him come into his room while he's in the shower. He's attuned to Stiles now. He has listened to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat and barely manages to control his hand from touching himself with the smell of Stiles on the other side of the door. "-is futile."

He turns around, sees Stiles on the settee, his profile bathed by the soft glow from the lamp. His eyes wander the length of Theo's body, skipping the subtlety. Stiles has long given up pretenses of not being interested but has never made a forward move as well - always putting Theo in suspension.

"What made you open your eyes to the fact?"

It's past midnight when they got home from a transaction. Six severed heads earned them a couple of million tonight; Tracy and Josh are out to celebrate the additional zeros in their account. Theo and Stiles retreated to the current headquarters - a property on the outskirts of a small town. It's decent, and it's theirs. They've gone a long way from where they started.

"Several things," Stiles mutters, not looking up from where he's staring at his dripping bare chest. Theo feels himself responding to the attention. He doesn't cover or will it down - there's no point when it's for Stiles, and it's never a secret. He deserves to know he stirs the deepest desires from Theo.

"Like?" He prompts, setting a hand on the towel slung loosely on his hips. Successfully, Stiles's attention draws to the act.

" _Void_ ," he replies, loud in the quiet of Theo's room. "He's not something I can separate from me - and I attempted that. It's useless when I'm not hosting him this time. He's hosting _me_.

_Power_ ," he adds after a short pause, dragging his eyes back up to Theo's torso. "The security he provides. I kept it locked away to play the defenseless little human in Scott's dysfunctional pack.

_Hunger_ ," Stiles rises to meet Theo's eyes in the dark. "I forced this vile, twisted appetite for pain and havoc into the unknown recesses of my mind because it wasn't my thoughts at first. But it is now. His want is mine."

He stands from the couch and takes slow steps forward. "The _money_. I can shower my father with luxury. He loved me when I was a broken boy; he will love me now that I have two parts of a whole. I _know_ it."

Theo doesn't move from his spot as Stiles close their small distance. A hand reaches out between them to where the sheet locks around him. Theo wants to burn the way Stiles's long fingers unwrap him like a gift at the back of his eyelids, but it's also impossible to break contact. The way his light brown eyes dilate to a darker shade sucks Theo's entire consciousness like a vortex. There's that scent again, the one intended _only_ for Theo, turning the air around them dense. He's becoming lightheaded from the promise of euphoria.

"And then _you_ ," Stiles murmurs, breath hot on Theo's naked skin. "You do everything for me - for both of the faces I wear."

"Whatever you need, whenever you need it, Stiles." Theo reiterates what he vaguely remembers telling Malia in the past. It is true today - _all the time_. 

The towel drops to the floor, irrelevant to the Nirvana he is about to experience.

Long, warm fingers wrap around where Theo is throbbing, and he struggles to keep his glazed eyes open. His mouth falls open to a soundless cry at the sensation of the firm, measured strokes. Stiles presses closer, brushing their lips together - _teasing_ as if there is not enough of that yet.

"I'm a half evil fox and half evil human," Stiles leaves innocent, fluttering kisses at the corner of his mouth, contrary to the expert twists and squeezes of the hand linking them. "Would you mind if I corrupt you a little?”

“I’m only yours to ruin,” Theo says through the fog in his brain. “Do your worst.”

Theo stops holding back the loud moan when Stiles drops to his knees. His eyes slide shut as molten lava envelopes him. 

_Resistance is futile._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [tumblr](https://voidstilesplease.tumblr.com/post/632756192702332928/luxuria)


	7. superbia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pride - n. (a) inordinate self-esteem; (b) a reasonable or justifiable self-respect; (c ) delight or elation arising from some act, possession, or relationship; (d) the root of all evil

~~_It was pride that changed angels into devils._ ~~

Derek has left.

Malia is gone.

Lydia is catatonic.

Kira is battling her fox.

Liam is grieving a dead girlfriend.

Scott has fallen prey to Theo's claws.

Everything happening is why they came here.

The McCall pack is extinguished inside and out - has been since they lost the one most faithful to them.

"Stiles," the alpha gasps, blood trickling from the side of his mouth. Theo digs his claws deeper to coax another drawn-out yowl from the werewolf. The library is slippery from thick blood. Even now, Theo can already smell and taste their triumph on his tongue. "Please don't do this."

Void steps out of the shadow with a pleased expression and looks down at Scott's prone form, bleeding out on the cold floor, alone - his pack is over.

" _Stiles_ ," the alpha croaks out again, spitting red in the process. He whimpers as Theo presses into him harder and twists the claws inside his body. The liquid flooding out of his wounds has started turning black from the wolfsbane Scott didn't even suspect he was ingesting for hours. It's a wonder how he lasted this long with his gullibility. 

The trickster makes a noise of disapproval, "Calling out to the friend you always dismiss but remember only in your time of need," he tilts his head and smirks. "How typical."

Tears are sliding from his eyes now, "Stiles, if you're still there, I'm begging you. I wanted to _save_ you."

Theo growls low, taking offense, "Right. You wanted to save him by locking him in a place where he'll lose his mind; some _best friend_."

"It's the only way I know to protect him," he sobs, and if Theo had a well-functioning heart, it would have broken. 

He doesn't have one.

Scott struggles for air when Theo unmercifully stabs inward again, rupturing organs that are rapidly failing their duty. Melissa can't save him; not even whatever makes Scott a _true alpha_ can redeem him. The mighty have fallen.

Not so mighty, it seems.

Void sighs dramatically and stoops down closer to Scott, lips curled. "Who did you think you were protecting him from?"

"You!" The alpha spats angrily - well, as angry as a draining and dying werewolf can be, anyway. It's not impressive.

Void snorts, "Me? I'll never hurt Stiles."

"Then why-" he coughs out black blood again. The red in his eyes are flickering on and off as well. "Why are you _still_ here - in his mind?"

"Because we're the greatest together," He kneels in the pool of blood and takes Scott's face in between his hands. "And to finish my game."

Theo watches the effortless shifting in his eyes. They're back to their natural light brown - back to Stiles. There’s regret in them.

Still, he says, " _Our_ game.”

And so they end it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [tumblr](https://voidstilesplease.tumblr.com/post/632840339281117184/superbia)


End file.
